Buyer interest in plug-in vehicles is waning, a US study has found.

Unplugged: Electric cars losing their lustre

17 January 2012Richard Blackburn

Car buyers are becoming less interested in electric vehicles, according to a survey conducted in the United States.

The findings are bad news for the car industry, which is spending huge amounts of money developing plug-in hybrids for a future less dependent on oil - and a regulatory environment that will increasingly tax less fuel-efficient cars.

The survey, conducted by Pike Research, shows that consumer interest in buying plug-in electric vehicles has declined over the past two years, despite the much-hyped release of new models such as Chevrolet's Volt and Nissan's Leaf.

The main barrier remains price, with Pike's price sensitivity analysis suggesting buyers are only prepared to pay a $US3500 premium for an electric version of a conventional car costing $US20,000. In contrast, Chevrolet's Volt plug-in hybrid vehicle (PHV) costs almost $US40,000 ($38,900), compared with $US17,000 for a similarly sized Cruze. A $US7500 government subsidy narrows the gap somewhat, but the premium is still prohibitive.

The Mitsubishi i-MiEV, is Australia's highest selling electric car, but only managed to sell 30 vehicles.

In the survey of roughly 1000 people, only 40 per cent of respondents said they would be "extremely" or "very" interested in buying a plug-in hybrid, compared with 48 per cent in 2009.

"Price is the most significant barrier to consumer interest in electric vehicles," Pike research director John Gartner said in a statement.

"About two-thirds of our survey respondents who stated they would not be interested in purchasing a PEV [plug-in electric vehicle] said that they felt such a vehicle would be too expensive. Others said that they would want to wait a few years until the technology is more proven, and almost half said that a PEV would not have sufficient driving range for their needs. These are all key issues, both real and perceived, that automakers will need to address if PEVs are to move successfully out of the early adopter phase."

The Nissan Leaf is due in Australia, this year.

The survey also found that Toyota was the favoured brand for plug-in vehicles, followed by Ford, despite the fact that neither has a plug-in on the market car. Chevrolet and Nissan, who already have cars on sale, were fourth and fifth behind Honda.

Despite an increase in popularity hybrid cars - led by the Toyota Prius, locally produced Toyota Hybrid Camry and Honda Insight - were still very much a niche in Australia, accounting for less than 1 per cent of sales.